Short hops and hard knocks with Red Sox beat writer Ian Browne.

Time for Sox fans to get it right on Damon

Four years and nearly three months ago, Johnny Damon came back to Fenway for the first time since leaving the Red Sox and the fans had a chance to thank him for the vital role he played in helping the team win their first World Series in 86 years.

Sox followers responded with some of the loudest boos I have ever heard in my nine years covering the team. Each Damon at-bat for the next four seasons had a similarly negative response.

Yes, he had the gall to wear Pinstripes. All the boos that took place after the first at-bat? Perfectly understandable. Damon was a Yankee, and all Yankees are booed at Fenway.

But in that first visit back, he deserved recognition and appreciation for four terrific seasons in which he played hurt and played hard constantly.

Listen, the Sox offered Damon four years at $40 million. It was a nice offer. The Yankees offered four years at $52 million. It was a much better offer. Damon took the money, which isn’t all that out of the ordinary in today’s sports landscape. Whether you agree with his decision or not, there is no disputing what he did in his time with the Sox.

So now, on Friday night, he comes back to Fenway again, this time wearing a Detroit Tigers uniform. Time to get it right, Red Sox Nation. Now is your chance to let bygones be bygones and give Damon — who coined the “Idiots” moniker in ’04 — his due for being one of the key Idiots.

Remember the two homers Damon hit in Game 7 of ’04 at Yankee Stadium, the first being a game-breaking grand slam? Remember the leadoff homer Damon hit in Game 4 of the ’04 World Series against the Cardinals? Remember the severe concussion Damon endured in Game 5 of the Division Series against Oakland in ’03, and how he got himself back in the lineup by Game 3 of the ALCS? Remember the overall numbers (.295 average, .362 OBP, 461 runs, 98 stolen bases, two All-Star appearances) put up for the Sox? Think about those things on Friday night when Damon steps to the plate in the top of the first.

After that, do whatever you want. But every other key member of the ’04 Sox who went to other teams has been appreciated at some point the last few years. Dave Roberts, OrlandoCabrera, Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe, Kevin Millar, Trot Nixon. They’ve all gotten their due. Now it’s time to give Damon his.

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29 Comments

well ur right, he did help us win the championship after 86 years. yes he was a vital part to the red sox team. and yes he did go to our worse competitor becuz of more money. i will accept that going to the yanks had alot to do with the boos, however, a few years b4 he left, he said it was the game he mostly cared about and that it wasnt about the money. thats the reason i boo whenever i see him. that is also the reason i cheer for tom brady whenever i see him. he took one for the team. just saying.

Sorry man. I respect your opinion, but I can’t agree with you. Your argument about dollars and cents isn’t valid because Damon dismissed a lifetime of lucrative endorsements in New England for the bright lights and big city in New York. But I don’t hate the guy either.

dude you need to stop crying because everyone is booing damon. the reason none of the other players got booed is because A) they didnt go to the yankees and B) damon sold out to the yankees for more money not to win a championship. think about it he did say in an interview that he woulnd not cut his hair for money, and then he goes and signs with the yankees for what $12 million more does he really need that after making millions already?

?There?s no way I can go play for the Yankees, but I know they are going to come after me hard,? Damon said. ?It?s definitely not the most important thing to go out there for the top dollar, which the Yankees are going to offer me. It?s not what I need.?….That’s why I was unable to forgive him for going to New York. He sold out, and went back on his word. He turned his back on legions of members Red Sox Nation.

Damon owned this town and got his cheers when he wore the Sox uniform. Red Sox fans owe him nothing. Any Sox fan who ‘cheers’ for Damon should have their pink hats confiscated. He made his bed (money) and now he should sleep in it. Remember he said the Yankees were the greatest organisation in baseball and have the best fans? Boooooo!

The Sox could’ve signed Damon and decided to let the Yankees have him. Damon did what anyone on this blog would’ve done….went for the $$$$$$. He’s just at a different level on the $$$$ making tree than we are. The Sox never even countered the Yankees offer. The Sox were ready to move on without Damon and they did. Time for us to move on after 6 years. He’ll be forgiven…just a matter of time and circumstances. Bottom line….the Sox hired him as a piece of the puzzle to win a championship…he helped and he left. He was a hired gun just like Manny and every other player in these days and times. What he said after he left….who cares. Defense mechanisms take different forms…..maybe he didn’t want to leave but the Sox weren’t really interested…..life goes on. Go Sox!!!!!

Dude. Seriously. You say you’ve been covering the Red Sox for how many years? And you still don’t get the heart of Red Sox fans. Adore everything Red Sox. Revile everything in and associated with pinstripes, the bronx and the Yankees. He bailed on us to go to the Yankees. That’s all a Red Sox fan knows. That’s all we really need to know. It doesn’t matter why. It just matters that he did. And really,Knowing that he went to the Yankees for money actually makes it worse. I doubt very much you will see Johnny Damon getting any applause in Fenway in the near future.

There’s a HUGE difference between Damon and Manny. Damon never gave up on the Sox. He always played his heart out. Did he leave for more money with the Yankees? Yes. Did he help us win a world series? Definitely.

Did Manny help us win a world series? Yes. Did he give up on the Sox, and dorce them to ltrade him to the Dodgers like an honor-less piece of c-r-a-p? Absolutely. What Manny did in his last year with the Sox was shameful, unprofessional, and self-centered. I wouldn’t want my son to look at Manny as an example to follow. And now, Manny wallows in LA, on the DL for the third time this year, breaking down due to steroids and age, without the legacy he would have had, had he stayed in Boston, and lived up to his obligations like a man.

Johnny Damon lived up to his obligations to the Sox. Am I happy that he went to the Yanks? No. But, he never gave less than 100 percent for us.

No one booed Damon for jumping ship to the Pinstripe Boys. Boston fans booed him for talking out of both sides of his oversized mouth. He swore up and down he would go anywhere but New York and then he took the Yankees up on their big money offer. If he had just said up front he was looking to get the best deal he could, he might have retained an ounce of respect from Boston fans. Johnny got what he wanted – money – and what he deserved – the distaste of Red Sox Nation.

Well, once again Browne, you show what a moron you are. I can’t believe I’ve been reading the garbage you write for nine years. barbhc86@hotmail.com got it right, it is because Damon double talked. Who wants to respect that? You know, I wish everyday that they say you moved on. And now your on WEEI? boy they must be desperate. Get out of town Browne.

First of all I’m glad Damon is coming back to Fenway with the Tigers and not the dreaded Yankees. The Tigers are limping into Fenway ( they got swept in a 4 game series against T.B. ) and the only “real threat” in the Detroit lineup is Cabrera. Personally I don’t care if the fans boo Damon all weekend or they give him a 5 minute standing ovation each time he bats. I loved watching Damon play for the Red Sox, the guy busted his tail every game he played. Damon never ever loafed/quit when wearing a Red Sox uniform, something that can’t be said about Manny Ramirez. That all being said, the Red Sox are fighting for their playoff lives and I hope Damon strikes out every at bat! I have never blamed Damon for leaving because it was obvious that Theo didn’t want Damon around so he took off for Gotham. N.Y. offered a lot more money than Boston, Damon would have been a fool if he took the Red Sox offer. Damon saying on May 1 2005 ” There’s no way I could play for the Yankees” We’ve all said things in our life that we would like to have back, I don’t hold that quote against him. The irony of that quote is the date—Exactly one year to the date ( May 1, 2006 ) Damon makes his Yankee debut at Fenway when he steps in the box to face old friend Tim Wakefield. A side note to that game, Mirabelli comes in from S.D. and gets a ride in a police car to Fenway from Logan Airport.

Let’s rewind shall we? It’s Game 7. Damon strolls up to the plate with the bases loaded. At that moment time stops and God says to you, the Red Sox Nation, “if you will allow Johnny Damon to leave and play for the Yankees after this year and help them win the World Series, I will make sure he hits a grand slam here AND I will guarantee you TWO World Titles, this year and 2007″ WHO AMONG YOU would say “NO! LET THE CURSE CONTINUE! I can’t have him in pinstripes”? NONE of you. That’s who.

I just can’t believe you chose the example of Kevin Millar returning to Boston, in stead of the return of Nomar Garciaparra.
Sure he didn’t win the World Series with the rest of the team. But was their a player who was more to the team considering what it brought in return for him and what transpired?
He certainly got his dues

Look I was a Damon hater when he left (the man broke my heart and the fact is I cried), but he certainly got his come-uppance this past year as he tested the free agency waters. His ship sank right along with his paycheck. So I would say that he has had a righteous ego check. I think that while I will thank him for what he did to help get our RedSox their rings, I won’t boo him any longer, but I CANNOT cheer him on.

Yeah, he helped. But, when the money was flashed in front of his face by the Evil Empire, he jumped on it. I would boo Wade Boggs. The thing that sux as a Red Sox fan is that if he were to get into the hall, he would end up there as a member of the Red Sox.

I really feel for fellow sox fans that point out all the quotes from Damon how he would never play for the Yankees and that it wasn’t about the $ – that’s what makes it so galling for him to put on those damn pinstripes. Even though watching Boggs & Clemens was infuriating, they never said what Damon did.

But to the ones that say – “he put on pinstripes and he’s done I’ll always boo him and that’s the way it always is” – take into account that he was a big part that will allow us all to die with some sense of satisfaction, something generations of sox fans lived and died without. That’s no small thing.

And some of you rightly point out that Manny doesn’t get his due. Yeh he was a pain in the rear – yes he quit on the team. But he helped us win it twice – what is that worth? As far as I’m concerned, everybody on the 2004 team is special forever, no matter what happened afterward.

Wow. I never comment on anything online, but I just couldn’t let this one go.

It’s not just that Damon went to the Yankees. Hell, Wade Boggs did it, and while it broke our hearts, deep down inside there was a basic understanding of his decision.

No, the problem with Damon is nailed by rock9’s post, quoting Damon:

?’There?s no way I can go play for the Yankees, but I know they are going to come after me hard,’ Damon said. ‘It?s definitely not the most important thing to go out there for the top dollar, which the Yankees are going to offer me. It?s not what I need.’?

I hope every member of RSN continues to boo the “Unfrozen Caveman (Designated Hitter)” for the rest of his career.

Maybe after he retires we might be able to forgive him. Just maybe. But frankly, his public declaration that the Yankees are baseball’s best organization with its best fans is going to make it extremely difficult.

Remembering the 2005 season….Damon’s arm was beginning to be a liability. He was playing CF and everyone was running on him. You could not move him to LF because that was the only place that Manny could play because of the same problem. RF at Fenway is out of the question. So the Sox offered him 4 years and $40M…most likely a PR move figuring Damon was starting to degrade in the skills area. The Yankees offer him $52M for the same amount of years. The Sox are relieved as the Yankees have pretty much took him off their hands. Who in their right mind throws $12M away? No other team was in the bidding. The Sox did not counter so here we are. So the Sox go get JD Drew for 5years/$70M. If the Sox did not have Big Papi at DH back then I think they would have fought the Yankees to keep him and that’s where he would have wound up but the Sox really had no place to put him. I can’t say I would blame Damon for everything that happened and I won’t get hung up on a couple quotes that he said. I won’t boo or cheer him…I just hope they get him out four times tonight with the rest of the Tigers and win. Go Sox!!!!!!

My two cents:
We are redirecting our anger at the wrong person. Personally, I think Damon was worth the money to keep him. Theo saw more in the likes of J.D. Drew.
I personally liked the outfield prospects we had in Pawtucket in 2007, but Theo saw Eric Gagne as a better option and who cares about losing a first round draft pick right Theo?
I personally felt we had a great shortstop but Theo liked Julio Lugo better.
All in all Theo Epstein has done more for crippling this team than anyone I can imagine. You want to be frustrated with someone — Theo Epstein. In fairness, I can’t blame him for this year. Injuries are injuries and so far, Julio Lackey has proven to be far more formidable lately.

Perhaps it’s because I just visited Gettysburg this month, but Ian’s first line has baseball echoes of Lincoln’s address…
I am one who will neither boo nor cheer Damon. Polite applause is about as far as I extend my hand. I will always credit Damon for the contributions to our 04 WS title, and I will not let him off the hook for going to the Yankees. He made his bed when he went there. Now that he is with neither team, I will give him a tip of the cap and wish him well, and hope that he goes 0-4 in each game. GO SOX!

This is much ado about nothing. If the fans are still upset about Johnny saying one thing and doing another let them boo. Who cares? Damon likes the attention either way, I suspect. It’s been what??? 5 years? Time to move on.
What I care about is the Sox winning. If Johnny goes 4 for 4 and the Sox win, fine by me.
Go Sox.

yet another thing you forget, once Damon signed with the Yankees he dissed the Sox for low-balling an offer to him and then claimed that management was trying to dismantle the championship team. I think we all could have forgiven him if he’d kept his mouth shut but, like others have said, he brought our scorn on himself.

I’m remembering back in Aug. 04, @ the RSvsWS in IL and newly married Johnny was being dragged to the bus by his fur coat wearing bride and I’m thinking, ” no good can come from this”. If you wanta place distain, she might have a target on her, just a thought. He played hard while hurt, 111% here, and all the boobirds can’t take that away from him. That said, the before/after comments leave a bad taste but sometimes it feels better to jab a former employer, especially after the door to the brinks truck pops open on the ‘bronx thruway’. What if he ‘pops’ outta the scoreboard 3 years from now and inks a one day contract, are you gonna Boo then? just asking.

Brownie, you ain’t right in the head are you…? I think it’s about time that you get your “due” and discontinue covering OUR team. I am an avid fan, have been for my ENTIRE life, and I think I speak for the entire Red Sox Nation when I say that your coverage has been less than stellar, and certainly doesn’t reflect the love that true fans have for this team. I’ve read nearly every article and blog of yours, and I typically find myself shaking my head. Damon is a sell-out, and took more money to go play for our arch-rivals. Like Clemens, he will be forever reviled in the hearts and minds of Red Sox fans.

You don’t speak for me….I have been a Sox fan for life too…..You folks that don’t like Ian…why do you keep coming back? Isn’t that like hating Big Macs but you keep going to MacDonald’s so you can complain? I know …it’s a free country…but why put yourself through the pain? Speak for yourself….thanks.

Paraphrase: Damon said he would never play for the Stankies. I believe the words were, “Wait and see the expression on the Yankees faces when they offer me a contract and turn it down and give the RedSox a home town discount.” I will never play for them.

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